An Amazing New Way to Explore Afghan Heritage

Afghanistan is a country with a rich
history and a vibrant cultural legacy, but it hasn’t always been easy for
people to discover and explore the country’s unique heritage. Fortunately,
however, the recently launched Preserving
Afghan Heritage platform on Google Arts & Culture offers an
exciting new way for cultural enthusiasts all over the world to get up close
and personal with Afghan heritage. This online treasure trove offers people all
over the world the unparalleled opportunity to experience some of the finest
examples of Afghan arts, crafts, and architecture, and to meet some of the
artisans behind Afghanistan’s cultural renaissance. No plane ticket required;
all you need is an Internet connection. Read on to learn more about this
fascinating initiative.

What
is Google Arts & Culture?

Originally launched in 2011, Google Arts
& Culture aims to make global cultural heritage more accessible to the
broader public. The initiative leverages sophisticated technologies, notably
Google Street View and high-resolution photography equipment, to provide a new
way for people to discover and explore individual artworks, collections, and famous
historic sites. Visitors to Google Arts & Culture can take a virtual stroll
through the halls of some of the world’s most famous museums, like London’s
National Gallery or St. Petersburg’s Hermitage Museum, tour architectural
treasures, such as Machu Picchu, and glimpse stunning artworks in extraordinary
detail.

Who
are the partners behind the creation of the Preserving Afghan Heritage
platform?

Hosted on Google Arts & Culture, the
newly created Preserving Afghan Heritage platform was developed and launched
with the support of a number of other partners. The most important collaborator
on the platform is Turquoise
Mountain, the nonprofit NGO that has spent the past 13 years working
to restore Kabul’s historic Old City, as well as revitalizing Afghanistan’s
traditional arts and crafts industry by providing vocational training and
business support to the next generation of Afghan artisans. As one of the
founders and supporters of Turquoise Mountain is His Royal Highness the Prince
of Wales, the Preserving Afghan Heritage platform was launched in late 2018 in
celebration of his 70th birthday.

What
kinds of experiences does the platform offer visitors?

The Preserving Afghan Heritage platform
brings together a range of online exhibits, virtual tours, images and videos, 3D
digital models, and articles on different aspects of Afghan art, culture, and
history. Some of the exciting opportunities available to visitors to the
platform include the following:

Discover
the historic Kabul neighborhood of Murad Khani—The transformation of Murad Khani is one
of Turquoise Mountain’s most impressive achievements. Ranked by the World
Monuments Fund as one of the world’s most endangered sites, this once-vibrant
historic neighborhood had fallen into decay and disrepair after years of conflict. To save the area, Turquoise Mountain
embarked on an extensive rehabilitation project that involved clearing the
neighborhood of garbage and painstakingly restoring traditional buildings to
their former glory. Today, Murad Khani is home to the Turquoise Mountain
Institute for Afghan Arts and Architecture, the organization’s artisanal and
vocational training facility, as well as many other community organizations and
facilities. On the Preserving Afghan Heritage platform, visitors can learn
about the restoration project and step into the bustling heart of the
neighborhood with a 360-degree video of the Murad Khani bazaar.

Take
a 3D tour of the Great Serai—One
of the last remaining caravanserais (guesthouses
or hostels) of its kind in Kabul, the Great Serai is the restored site
in Murad Khani that now houses the Turquoise Mountain Institute. Through an
incredible series of 3D models, visitors can explore the details of this
amazing architectural site, from a bird’s eye view of the entire compound to a
close-up of the interior rooms’ stunning carved plasterwork and walnut wood
furniture.

Walk
through classrooms at the Turquoise Mountain Institute—Google’s Street View technology takes
visitors inside some of the classrooms at the Turquoise Mountain Institute
where young artisans and craftspeople learn their trade. Visitors can stroll
through the light-filled calligraphy classroom, with its wide wooden desks and
walls covered with framed examples of calligraphic art, or the gem cutting and jewelry classroom, full of
workbenches and specialized equipment for cutting and polishing precious
stones.

Explore
online exhibits of traditional Afghan arts and crafts—Visitors to the Preserving Afghan Heritage
platform can gain a new appreciation for traditional Afghan arts and crafts
through beautifully detailed online exhibits that offer a step-by-step guide to
the methods used to produce works such as brilliantly colored carpets made from
local yarn, the traditional and distinctively glazed glassware of Herat,
pottery from Afghanistan’s finest clay, and the intricate latticed style of
woodworking known as jali.

Meet
the people of Murad Khani—At
the heart of the neighborhood of Murad Khani are its people—not only the
artisans and craftspeople of the Turquoise Mountain Institute, but also the
children who attend Murad Khani primary school, the staff of the community’s
Feroz Koh Family Health Center, and the merchants who sell their wares in the
Murad Khani bazaar. The Preserving Afghan Heritage platform introduces visitors
to some of the neighborhood’s amazing residents, helping them to quite
literally see a different face of Afghanistan.